Day One
Our train from Lyon to Avignon took about 2 ½ hours, and had multiple stops. It was a rather confusing situation what we found at Part-Dieu, in the sense that there were two trains on the same track, and none was clearly identified.
When I finally managed to ask someone about the Avignon one, we found it, and it was really packed. Too many passengers, too much luggage, and only two car-trains in total. Fortunately, we found some seating space just outside the bathroom in the area where bicycles are stored. An added complication was the very limited luggage storage area. This was just a small gap between the seat rows and the bicycle racks, and the overhead racks, which by the way could not possible hold much of the large suitcases we saw.
It seems like every passenger carried one or more of the following; a handbag, a large suitcase, a duffel bag, a scooter, a backpack, and a bicycle. Cell phones were “De Rigueur”.
We arrived at Avignon Centre without problems, but somewhat tired. Then we stopped at the SNCF office and proceeded to buy all our tickets for the next few days. It was a surprise that the lady asked for our passports to proceed. This was the only time it occurred to us.
Our long detailed plans, included day trips to; Orange, Nimes, and Saint Remy (by bus). On another day, we had booked a Wine Tour (“Ventourisme”). Also, we needed to plan a “Laundry Day”, this was on a Sunday, just before our transfer to Arles. In all we spent seven days in Avignon.
After buying all our train tickets for the week at Avignon, we headed to the outside and locate a taxi. I knew it was a short distance to our hotel, but on arrival at an unfamiliar place, and with luggage, we always prefer a Taxi just in case we underestimate distances, or we find obstructions. BTW, Avignon Centre station is something of a “war zone”, with lots of construction around. The same applies to the adjacent bus terminal.
We found a taxi, loaded our suitcases, and we proceeded to get to our hotel. After about five minutes we arrived. I saw the Taxi meter, and the fare, with suitcase charges was 7.5 euros. However, and here is an interesting story, the driver insisted that because it was a short distance, the actual fare would be 15 euros !!!!!!!??????. I refused to pay that much, and after some argumentation, I suggested we went inside the hotel, call the authorities, and clarify the whole thing. Visible annoyed, he asked me, “How much you would pay”, my answer was, exactly what the meter shows. I did pay, and he drove away. What really happened here? I welcome any opinions. Let me also add that according to the hotel personnel, a taxi ride from the Avignon TGV station to the city, a far longer distance, is normally 20 euros.
Let me add at this point, that as soon as we arrived at Avignon, we started to experience something unexpected, a strong wind that blows at all times. This followed us everywhere we went, Arles and Aix included. It was particularly bothersome during our Winery Tour, and on the last two nights at Aix.
After my experience with the Taxi (above), we walked into our hotel (Hotel Regina), and settled for our one week stay. Unfortunately, by the time we finished, it was getting late for lunch. The hotel staff recommended us to walk around “Place du Horloge” or Rue Galante to find an eating place still open. We did that and we either found places already closing, or some restaurants that looked too “touristy” or commercial for us.
Feeling somewhat hungry, we walked a few streets from the hotel, found a “Carrefour” (right next to the local Mc Donald’s) and bought a few pieces of fruit and snacks. That gave us enough energy to wait for dinner. The hotel personnel was very helpful calling “Le 26” restaurant and book a table for us.
I would like now to say a few words about Hotel Regina. We liked and enjoyed the relatively large room, nicely furnished and with a charming balcony on the side street. The cleanliness and everyday change of towels and toiletries were great. The breakfast however was just adequate, but much better than our experience in Lyon (Hotel des Celestines). The coffee maker and the fresh fruit were great improvements. But, we had a “serious” objection, we hated the bathroom. It would be long to describe this objection, if you are interested, my review below will say more.
After resting for a while and taking a stroll along Rue de la Republique, we stopped by the TI office, where we obtained a map and some good information about opening times of major attractions. The TI personnel also helped us locate some restaurants from our list. Then we proceeded to find “Le 26” nearby, the restaurant for our first meal in Avignon, and what a meal it was!!!!!
The best way to describe our experiences at Le 26, is to say that words fail us to express delight and satisfaction. It is rare that we eat twice at the same place in our journeys, but that we did in this case. Too bad we could not return for a third meal. Take a look at my comment if you are interested.
Nothing more to say about Day-One in Avignon. All that was remaining was to head to our hotel and had a good sleep.
Day Two
We got ready to start our day after a breakfast at our hotel. We found the buffet just acceptable, but an improvement over our experiences in Lyon (Hotel les Celestines). My wife and I had several cups of Café-Latte and liked the choices of fresh fruits, which included passion fruit.
After breakfast we headed to the first attraction we wanted to enjoy, The Pope’s Palace. We were essentially the first to enter, and we were glad of that. Initially we had the patios and rooms all to ourselves, but by the time we left, about 2 hours later, the tour groups had arrived and crowded the site considerably.
I have sort of mix-feelings about the palace. It is a major Christian-History site, but it is essentially devoid of any real exhibits. That is provided by the Tablet guides you get when entering, all the graphic and details are nice. But the signage of where and how to get from room to room is not always very clear.
In any case, we enjoyed the Palace as much as can be expected in a couple of hours, we visited the Gardens, and did a stop at the Shop just before exiting. We bought a booklet and a DVD related to the Palace, and also a Zero Euros note souvenir.
Looking at our next chosen attraction to visit, we wanted to visit “The Petit Palace Museum”, but it was closed that day. Therefore we walked to the Cathedral nearby and took a goof look at it. It is without doubt very much worth a visit. After this stop, we slowly walked down our way to the hotel and we asked for a suggestion to have lunch. The eatery mentioned was “Le Vintage” on Rue Galante.
We found Le Vintage to be a good, popular place which offers tasty food at very accessible price. On our two meals there, we ended up quite satisfied with the service received. My review below will tell you some more.
After lunch and a short rest stop at our hotel, we walked along the ancient walsl of Avignon on the direction of the Pont. Once there we acquired our entrances and audio-guides. We found this attraction to be only half-interesting. It was nice to learn about its history and legends, but otherwise of not great interest to us. BTW, the audio guide narration of the popular Pont-related song, did not include the popular version we all know.
It was here that we felt the wind more than usual, to the point that my wife refused to walk on top on fear of being blown away. She also preferred to walk some stairs rather than take the open elevator. Yes, it was that windy !!!!!!. Let me comment that anyone who suffers “Acrophobia” (fear of heights), should perhaps enjoy the Pont from ground level and at a distance.
The best views of the Pont are from street level but the rather heavy traffic by the bridge made it difficult to take good photos of it.
After the bridge, we walked back to the hotel discovering more of the streets not overran by tourists. Stopped at an Ice Cream Parlor close to Place Horloge, and enjoyed good servings of our favorite Gelato flavors. Nothing more after this, but just a good night sleep. The destination next day would be Orange.
